By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
Let’s hear and learn the story of Ms. Ruby Lee Dangiapo Gunn, The Blind Gardener, who was Baguio-born like all 5 of her siblings. She is considered as sandigan, sumbongan ng bayan, at least by visually impaired persons in Baguio-Tuba-La Trinidad area.
Ruby started her formal education at the Lucban Elementary school, a stone’s throw away from their house. She was actually fully sighted up to 4th grade. She was, according to her, messing with plants and even animals.
At a young age, she was already introduced to “hard” work. She used to collect soda cans in John Hay, plant them with mayana, donkey tail, etc then sold them. She got her love of plants from her mom and grandma.
One time, her father gave her 5 pesos to bet at the then La Trinidad cockpit arena. She bet the money and won.(It was the first and last time that she bet in cockfighting). With her winning, she bought a pair of ducks being sold just outside the arena. She multiplied them to become a source of eggs. Her 4th grade agriculture teacher advised her to turn the 18-20 days old eggs to balut. She got the cue. She asked her mom to make the balut, then she sold them to her teachers. Then she thought of making salted eggs. Her mom obliged again so she consulted her recipe book on how to make salted eggs. They made them up to the early months of the pandemic period.
Unfortunately, Ruby had a Stargart Disease – degeneration of the retina. It is hereditary, appearing every 3rd generation. Ruby’s eyes started to degenerate when she reached grade 4 but somehow, eyes already impaired and all, she was still able to see and write up to 5th grade. After that, she can only see faint shadows. Surprisingly, she did not fret, complained nor cursed anybody. She just bravely adjusted accordingly. She was able to continue with her love for plants, but stopped her animal projects. At that tender age, she was already exhibiting very strong character.
BCU High, where her uncle Mr. Gesdan was the principal, was her next stop for her secondary education. Since she could not normally see anymore, she used a recorder for her lectures. Her exams were all done orally so, she was always the first to take the exam.
She was then asked to be a proctor for the exams of her classmates. It was time to help my classmates, she thought to herself. She narrated haughtily that she told them all the answers. In addition, she helped her classmates in their assignments in exchange for lunch. Her teachers were gloriously clueless about these happenings.
The result? All of them graduated, and her classmates fondly remember this funny episode of their lives.
Ruby’s indomitable spirit was richly displayed in her secondary extra-curricular activities. Bar none, she joined in all those activities. Her condition was not an impediment but an added reason for her participation. Probably unrivalled in magnitude by any of her classmates.
A case in point. Despite her being visually impaired, she was part of investigatory projects in her 3rd and 4th years. One of the them, a ref with a wooden frame surrounded by charcoal and a dripping water at the top, was presented in a regional science fair in Bolinao, Pangasinan. There were three of them in the project. She was the one who defended it!
Just after high school, the Blind Gardener went to Tagaytay city to help her mom’s friend to do gardening. It was an exhilarating experience for her; she learned more about plants there. Returning to Baguio, she was given money, part of it was used to buy a pet turtle and some tree seedlings.
Partly due to the then absence of specialty schools for the blind and visually impaired persons here in Baguio to train them for a living, Ruby went to the Florida, U.S.A at age 21. There, she enrolled at the school for the blind where independent living skills for the blind was taught. The school also taught her how to cook, how to use cane, how to read the Braille, how to fold clothes, and more. That was so meaningful and enjoyable to her.
After that, she got a job at a hotel as part of its housekeeping staff. No discrimination whatsoever.
She also went to Oxnard College in California to study theater arts and fashion designing. Who says that blind people can’t do those things? It’s a matter of proper training, interest of the learner and the real help of concerned government agencies or private entities.
Ruby also worked at a medical clinic and at a candle shop. There is really hope for the blind to work a normal job.
Because of her love for plants, the Blind Gardener attended seminars/trainings on gardening in the U.S. Shortly after, she opened her own shop naming it, Turtle Creek Gardens selling mostly unique plants. She did everything for the shop, including growing her own plants. As she operates her shop, she found something disturbing: young people pregnant women, senior citizens and other people stole her plants.
But not all are that insensible. On weekends, some senior citizens join her in selling her plants, even bringing with them coffee and lunch that all joyfully share. They actually fetch her from her place. She fixes her plants and the SCs did the pricing. It’s a way for them to show support to a wonderful gardener, and at the same time, a way for them to get together.
One Christmas time, Ruby and her sister, Donna made a 6-meter inverted Christmas tree. It became famous, and it won at least 6 awards. Somebody pictured the shop with the inverted tree, and made it into a poster.
As Ruby’s fame spread, customers began asking her to do landscaping for them. One of her customers was a teacher. The teacher was amazed at how Ruby did things in maintaining her garden. It won twice in city garden competition which was covered by local papers there.
Because of Ruby’s amazing talent the teacher, Ann Doughbroth, named her The Blind Gardener. Newspapers and TV stations were quick to adapt that name. That’s how Ruby got that monicker.
Some of her customers were so curious as she did gardening for them that sometimes they watch her as she did her inspiring garden work.
Good things (and bad things for that matter) they say, never last. When the infamous 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Center happened, many businesses spiraled downward. The garden shop of the Blind Gardener was not spared so it closed down, and with it Ruby’s glossy gardening sojourn in the U.S. came to an end.
So the Blind Gardener returned to the Philippines in 2011 but landed first in Palawan where her sister was already ensconced earlier. Four years later she arrived in Baguio to take care of her mom in Camdas, and continue her gardening and housekeeping.
When the COVID 19 pandemic was declared in March, 2020 she started helping locked down students especially those residing in Camdas. She was the first to respond to the needs of those students. Not content with it, she told her mom that she wanted to help others as well, especially the blind people around. She wrote the “Z” Radio about helping the blind and she immediately donated some amount signing simply, The Blind Gardener.
The visually impaired persons (VIPs)in Baguio, La Trinidad and Tuba were then already starting to sell their guitars and other personal belongings to cope with the situation. It seemed that they were a forgotten lot. The Blind Gardener provided 3 car-loads of ayuda for them thru the “Z” Radio. She was concerned of continuously helping them that her mom quipped, “You are pouring help to the VIPs, you don’t even have money anymore to buy your panty.” Because of Ruby’s help somehow VIPs were able to surmount increasing pressure for them to survive.
Now her mom is gone but Ruby continues to provide help and hope to the VIPs. She had already organized livelihood seminars for them like rag making, organic soap and Fabcon making, macramé making and others. She even initiated singing competitions for them resulting to the organization of the chorale group of the Blind Organization of Baguio. She also arranged dental mission for them. Also initiated the first Baguio-Benguet VIP Chess Tournament which I had the pleasure to see it through its completion.
She is doing a lot more for them at the moment. Ruby would like to push for the hiring of blind entertainers in some establishments. Being a member of the Rotary Club, she is recommending that the Club help provide for medical maintenance of VIPs. She is doing many things better than a normally sighted individual, male or female, is doing
The Blind Gardener dreams of training VIPs for independent living skills as she had undergone so they can depend on themselves.
Hats off to you Blind Gardener. May you have more opportunities to help and less criticisms coming your way.**
